Thai Pm Thaksin's Contempt For Human Rights

[Cheeky Farang]

Thai PM Thaksin's Contempt for Human Rights

Posted: 10/27

From: The Nation

COMMENT: Body count spirals during PM's reign

Published on October 27, 2004

It was yet another black day for Thaksin Shinawatra's premiership. When more than 80 Thais perished at the hands of Thai troops in the deep South on Monday - six in the clash between protesters and security forces and 78 reportedly from suffocation after being rounded up and put in the back of military trucks - everything else that has marred his highly controversial reign now pales in comparison.

His contempt for human rights has resulted in a scattering of personal tragedies, masked by the proclaimed success of the war on drugs. But now this flawed trait of his leadership is threatening to plunge the country into the bitterest and most detrimental divide between the people and the state.

Barring criminal scenarios like beatings or other forms of torture, this is a major tragedy. But it could have been prevented if only the victims had been treated more humanely. Thaksin may not have been directly responsible for them being crammed into military trucks like pigs headed for slaughterhouses, but the troops' demonstration of hatred and disregard for humanitarianism simply reflected how the country is being governed. Granted, the southern situation is far from normal, but it cries out for extreme sensitivity, not the opposite.

How the government handled the aftermath is equally scandalous. No words of apology. No clear explanation from top government officials about the circumstances leading to the deaths. A shocked nation and distraught families were left to rely on vague press briefings by a forensic expert and some senior military officials.

The 78 young men died on Monday night, but the government acted as if nothing happened, and the press briefings only took place late yesterday afternoon after rumours spread like wildfire.

The Narathiwat tragedy will inflame criticism that the government's hawkish approach may have been at least partially responsible for the aggravated southern situation. With innocent people killed by militants virtually every day, tough policies are required. But nothing justified the deaths of most - if not all - victims of the Narathiwat carnage.

What happened in the province provides a cruel picture of the nation's future: the deep South will continue to burn. All the efforts - utmost or misguided, sincere or political - are now in danger of going down the drain. We have found ourselves in the most precarious state yet as far as the troubled region is concerned. No longer is our problem about coping with cells of bandits playing hide and seek with the authorities. Somehow, the people have been pitted against the state, and communal violence is threatening to escalate.

Prime Minister Thaksin has pinpointed possible causes of the turbulence and reshuffled the top men in charge. It's time he took a long hard look at himself.

http://mathaba.net/x.htm?http://mathaba.ne...x.shtml?x=79532

[Cheeky Farang]

Thaksin may not have been directly responsible for them being crammed into military trucks like pigs headed for slaughterhouses

Bet the Mulims love this statement,

[dr_Pat_Pong]

Thaksin may not have been directly responsible for them being crammed into military trucks like pigs headed for slaughterhouses

Bet the Mulims love this statement,

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

That'll really piss 'em off